Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island
By Vonda Skinner Skelton 

     Twelve-year-old Bitsy Burroughs was excited. Her family was going on a real vacation, the first they'd ever had. First, her dad had been named Salesman of the Quarter. Along with the award, he had been given a hundred-dollar bonus. Mr. Mull, a man Robert worked with, was letting him use his cabin on Tybee Island, Georgia, for a week for only twenty dollars!

     That left eighty dollars for gas and food. And that meant real food, not the fried fatback and stale honey buns the family usually ate at every meal. furthermore, her favorite cousin, Matt, was coming with them. Bitsy would have some company besides her two little sisters, Ann, six, and Lynn, three.

     When they arrived at the cabin, they found it a bit run-down, but in fairly good shape. Next to it stood the ruins of an old fort, which Bitsy and Matt could hardly wait to explore. However, just after they entered the dark ruins, an evil-looking man with a bushy black beard came to the door. He didn't speak to them, just looked at them for a few minutes and walked away. Bitsy and Matt felt that he didn't want them at the fort. The two men in the cabin across the street also said they needed to stay out of the fort. Why didn't anyone want them to go inside the old fort?

     Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island is a delightful story with a charming young lady who is a normal child in all respects. She also learns some very valuable lessons along with solving a very real crime. This is the kind of book I loved as a child. I'm sure kids everywhere will be looking forward to reading more stories about Bitsy Burroughs.